


Grinning Like A Devil

by soul_writerr



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Episode: s22e06 The Long Arm of The Witness, Established Relationship, Kinda, M/M, Married Barisi, Murder, OOC, demon!Rafael
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 10:53:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29044905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soul_writerr/pseuds/soul_writerr
Summary: “How many more people have you killed, Rafael?,” Sonny asked, louder this time, and he looked straight at him, face hard and gaze penetrating.Rafael stood up, stepped away from him. He let the question hang around them. He felt the weight of it on his shoulders. Not because he regretted what he’d done, he didn’t, but because of how Sonny had phrased it.Because he’d let out the ‘for me’.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 28
Kudos: 54





	Grinning Like A Devil

**Author's Note:**

> So, I had this idea for demon!Rafael around Halloween but couldn't quite figure out how to write it, then last week's episode gave me just the hook I needed to try this out. I thought this would be me trying something out of my comfort zone by making Rafael a little dark BUT it did not come out that way lmao 
> 
> I hope you enjoy it anyway!

“Judge Gallagher is dead,” Sonny said, voice heavy with shock. His hand was shaking, and he set his phone on the bedside table so he could massage the center of his palm nervously.

They’d been going through their regular night time routine. It’d been a successful day, and Rafael had brought a drink with him into the bedroom and cracked open the book he’d been meaning to read for weeks.

Sonny was about to go shower when his phone rang. Rafael bit back a snide remark about Sonny not knowing when to turn _off_ for the day as he picked up, greeting Olivia with a tired sigh.

He’d stopped unbuttoning his shirt as he listened to Olivia, and Rafael rolled his eyes. He initially thought Sonny was going to have to go back to work, but as the other man dropped heavily onto the mattress, Rafael saw the tension between his shoulders and realized he wasn’t going back out.

Olivia had called to warn him. 

Rafael watched him closely, setting his book aside. “What happened?”

“Liv only knows they found his body in the back of a police van. They were transferring him from holding to prison, he was dead when they arrived.” 

“Does she know who did it? Was it one of his victims?”

“No, they were all at the precinct with her,” Sonny dropped his head into his hands. “Shit, I don’t have an alibi.” 

Rafael pushed away from where he’d been leaning onto the headboard, sitting up straight. “What? I thought you said you’d be in a meeting with Hadid.” 

Sonny shook his head, looking over his shoulder at him. “She rescheduled, said the DA wanted to talk to her before she talked to me.”

“So where did you go?”

“I came home. I was here alone.” 

“I’ll say I was with you,” Rafael said, jaw clenched. This was a hole in his plans. A hole he had not planned for. Sonny was supposed to have a strong alibi, like he’d made sure all of Gallagher’s victims had. 

“What? No, we can’t lie,” he frowned at Rafael. “If they find any evidence you were somewhere else I’ll look guilty. And where were you, by the way?”

Rafael looked away, standing up from bed, his back to Sonny. “I can’t say.”

If it came down to it, Rafael knew that spousal privilege would keep them safe, but there was no need to burden Sonny with an admission he might not be ready to hear. 

“What?,” his frown deepened. “Why not?” 

“I can’t say,” Rafael repeated, picking up his glass and sipping slowly as Sonny’s eyes followed his movements. 

Sonny stood up then, turning to Rafael. He was looking at him with what was clear understanding dawning on him. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he knew.

Rafael saw it in his eyes; his beautiful, beautiful eyes. The calculations, the suspicion, the _disappointment_. 

He looked away from Sonny. 

“Were there security cameras?,” Sonny asked, voice barely above a whisper, as if the room were wired. As if he wanted to keep any potential evidence of what Rafael had done all to himself. 

“No.”

Sonny took a step back, shaking his head. He was the one who looked away then, closing his eyes minutely, breath uneven. He looked at Rafael again, assessing him. 

Rafael waited for the question. Once Sonny asked it, he would no longer be able to deny Rafael’s nature. Because even though Sonny had always known, he’d never had to face it head-on like this. 

Rafael had been more careful before. He had confirmed Sonny’s alibi before acting. This time he’d slipped on a technicality, and they couldn’t ignore the possible repercussions. 

Sonny wouldn’t, not now that the door was open. He’d have to ask or he’d never know peace again. 

As if Rafael had ever promised him peace. 

“Rafael,” he started, staring right into his eyes. Rafael wondered, for a moment, if Sonny expected them to flick to black. “Did you do this?”

Silence spoke louder than words, they said, so Rafael simply maintained unwavering eye-contact. 

“You killed him,” Sonny said after a beat. “You. _Killed_ Gallagher.” 

Rafael blinked. He didn’t move, standing by the end of their marital bed. The bed that was now the only thing between them. 

The thing that was once where he’d been the closest to Sonny he could possibly be now was what stopped him from reaching over and embracing his husband. 

This bed had never looked so menacing before. 

Sonny was still staring at him, but his expression had turned into something of pure hurt. “How could you?”

“How could I not?,” Rafael replied dryly. 

The other man started pacing, shaking his head and muttering under his breath. His shoulders slumped, and he kept working his jaw like he was preparing to lash out. 

He took a couple deep breaths, hands dropping to his sides heavily, and Rafael watched him. Sonny was trembling, and it took an insurmountable amount of self-control for Rafael not to go to him.

“Do you remember what I told you when you proposed?,” Rafael asked, and Sonny stopped pacing to look at him. 

“You said it was funny that a demon would end up marrying an _angel_ ,” Sonny said, face scrunching up like he’d gotten a whiff of something unpleasant.

It’d been uncharacteristically corny, but Rafael had been trying to make Sonny laugh, then. Sonny was not laughing now.

He gestured between the two of them with a dramatic wave of his hand. “Well, here we are.”

Sonny ran a hand down his face, breathing hard into it. “How are you so flippant about this? You _murdered_ a man.”

“What do you want me to tell you? That I regret it? Should I be beaten up about killing a man who called you--”

Sonny raised a hand to stop him. “I know what he called me. Is it really that absurd to expect you to feel bad about it?”

Rafael gritted his teeth. He’d always known they operated under different morals. It wasn’t surprising that Sonny wanted him to be _human_ about his decision to end another person’s life.

But Rafael wasn’t human. 

“Yes. It is,” he said, clipped. 

“Jesus, Rafael,” Sonny said around a dry laugh that sounded too much like a sob.

Rafael took another sip of his drink, relishing the momentary distraction. 

“Do you feel any remorse?,” Sonny asked after another beat of silence. His eyes looked huge, somewhat hopeful. Rafael hated himself for taking that away from him, but he’d never lied to Sonny. He wouldn’t start now.

He shook his head, looking from his glass to Sonny. “The only thing I regret is that I didn’t get to enjoy it a little longer.” 

Sonny stumbled back like he’d been slapped. “I can’t be here right now. I can’t--”

Rafael watched, feet firmly in place, as Sonny grabbed his shoes, his phone and his wallet. He looked drunk, tripping on his own feet and swaying from one side to the other, but Rafael didn’t move. He let him go, quiet.

He waited for his husband to leave the room, leave the apartment. He waited until he heard the click of the door snapping shut, he gave him enough time to take the elevator down and hit the streets.

Only then did Rafael set his glass on the bedside table, and went after him.

* * *

Rafael’s eyes snapped open in the dark. Sonny was home. The air around the apartment shifted when he came in, and Rafael listened as he walked into the kitchen, poured himself a drink and sat on the couch. 

He’d been at Bella’s place for most of the night. Rafael had followed him there, using the shadows on the sidewalk to move undetected. Once he was assured that Sonny had arrived safely, he went back home. 

Now, in the broken stillness of their apartment, Rafael was relieved.

He sat up, aware of every crack and snap of the mattress as he stood. He didn’t want to scare Sonny. The tension between them was already making Rafael feel uneasy, Sonny pulling a weapon on him wouldn’t make matters any better.

Rafael padded across the hallway towards the living room. Sonny was sitting in the dark, a tumbler in hand. He generally preferred beer over scotch, but Rafael could see it was a double dose.

Sonny took a sip. He stared into the darkness, silent, unmoving. Rafael stepped closer and the floorboard creaked beneath his foot. 

Sonny’s eyes snapped to his. The only light in the room, coming through the window from the streetlamps, reflected in the icy blue Rafael knew so well. 

He was expressionless, face half-covered in shadows. The silhouette of his profile outlined the plumpness of his lips, the aristocratic curve of his nose. He was beautiful. Rafael ached to touch him, to love him. To be loved by him.

Rafael waited, standing a few steps away from his husband. He’d let Sonny be the one to break the silence. He wanted Sonny to tell him what to do. He’d leave, if Sonny asked. He wouldn’t go far - he couldn’t -, but he’d leave. 

“I went to talk to Olivia,” Sonny said after another sip of his drink. He licked his lips, watched the liquid swash around the glass. “Said we were home all night. Together.”

Rafael smiled weakly, stepping closer. “That’s good,” he said, standing right in front of him now. “That’s great, _mi amor_. That solves the alibi situation, right?” 

There was a long pause. Sonny didn’t take his eyes off the glass in his hand. Rafael stood, controlling his breath. Controlling his instincts. He’d never lost it with Sonny, he wasn’t about to start tonight.

“Why did you do it, Rafael?,” Sonny asked, voice clear and tone direct.

“Because I love you,” Rafael replied in the same tone. He kneeled between Sonny’s spread thighs, but didn’t touch him. “I love you so much, Sonny, and they hurt you. They _threatened_ you. I couldn’t let them get away with it.” 

The pause this time was filled with a shaky breath. Sonny squeezed his eyes shut, turning his face away. A perfect reflection of agony on his gorgeous face. 

Rafael realized he had slipped a beat too late, but Sonny noticed it instantly.

“ _They_ ,” Sonny whispered. “How many more?”

He pulled a face, contrarian. “Are you sure you want to talk about this?”

“ _How many more_ people have you killed, Rafael?,” Sonny asked, louder this time, and he looked straight at him, face hard and gaze penetrating.

Rafael stood up, stepped away from him. He let the question hang around them. He felt the weight of it on his shoulders. Not because he regretted what he’d done, he didn’t, but because of how Sonny had phrased it.

Because he’d let out the ‘ _for me’_. 

He reached for the glass in Sonny’s hand, deliberately slow, allowing Sonny to see it coming. He let go of it and watched as Rafael took a sip. He watched Rafael’s fingers wrap around the glass, then his lips parting for the smokey liquid, then his tongue darting out to lick a drop away from the corner of his lips.

Sonny’s pulse increased. Rafael could hear it as clear as the wind blowing outside. He felt the anticipation in his own veins, tacky on his skin. He’d always wanted to tell Sonny. It was a side of their marriage they never really discussed, even though Sonny knew what he was. What he was capable of.

“Nick Hunter,” he said, handing the drink back to Sonny. He took it, eyes never leaving Rafael’s.

Hunter had been so _easy_ , and Rafael had felt absolutely no remorse at whipping the smug look off the bastard’s face. His soul had been immediately pulled down to the underworld, where Hunter was to be tortured for the rest of eternity.

Rafael himself never took part in it. He knew that he’d break the scumbag’s soul completely at the snap of a finger if he got his hands on him, and there was no fun in that. So he’d left clear instructions for the others and let them enjoy it.

By Sonny’s reaction, he wasn’t too upset about Hunter being in a worse place, either. Hunter was nothing but an abusive piece of shit, and the world was better off without him. Not one person had weeped. Not a single tear was shed for him, not even from his mother. She’d been too ashamed to grieve him.

But Rafael realized that the problem wasn’t whether or not these men deserved to die. The problem was that Rafael had been the one to kill them.

“Who else?,” Sonny asked in a whisper.

Rafael shrugged. “I would have loved to have gotten my hands on Tom Cole, but Olivia took care of that for me.” 

Sonny’s head dropped forward. “ _God_.”

“Careful,” he smirked.

Sonny lifted his head and threw him an unamused look. Rafael bit into the inside of his cheek to stop himself from grinning. He knew Sonny understood, in his own way. He was so patient, kind, sympathetic. He knew Rafael couldn’t help it, he accepted that. 

Rafael couldn’t help his demonic nature the same way Sonny couldn’t help being the very best version of what humankind had to offer. 

And they would be okay. 

“Please, promise me,” Sonny started. He set the glass on the coffee table and stood up. “Promise me you’re never doing anything like this again.” 

Rafael sighed, shaking his head. “I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”

He took Sonny’s hand, kissed the back of it, pressed his face into it, inhaled. 

“Ask me anything else, anything else and I’ll do it,” Rafael mouthed into Sonny’s palm. “But I can’t promise you that, not if anyone ever threatens you again.” 

Sonny hooked the tip of his fingers under Rafael’s jaw and used it to lift his head, tipping it back until their eyes met again. He resigned. 

“Sonny, I love you so much,” Rafael breathed. 

“I don’t want you to get caught,” Sonny whispered, their noses almost touching as he leaned down, closer.

“I won’t,” he craned his neck, brushing their lips together. “I’m not leaving you, Sonny.”

Sonny kissed him, desperate. His breath started coming out in pants in a matter of seconds. 

Rafael let him take the lead, opened his mouth to Sonny’s questioning tongue. He let Sonny kiss him however he wanted to, and his blood soared. It was possessive, anguished. It was a frenzy of emotions that spoke to Rafael better than words could.

“I love you,” Sonny said, lips barely leaving Rafael’s, breathing into his mouth. “They’re not worth it, Rafael.” 

“They’re not,” he whispered back. “But you are. You’re worth everything, _mi amor_.”

“Promise me,” Sonny said again, his eyes shining fiercely as they bore into Rafael’s. “Promise me you’re never going to get caught.”

Rafael smiled, and Sonny kissed his stretched lips. “I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone's wondering, I'm not currently on twitter, and while I don't know when or if I'm coming back, I have a couple stories in me that I'd like to share! One is kinda soulmatey, and hopefully I'll finish that super soon
> 
> Let me know what you think of this one! Leave a little kudo if you enjoyed my failed attempt at writing something that wasn't fluffy somehow LMAO 😜


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